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I live in Chicago, and it's an extremely segregated city. Black and HIspanic professionals have complained that they are sometimes shunned by White neighbors in affluent neighborhoods.
My sister experienced similar when she lived in Chicago. She lived in the Gold Coast, and some people perceived that as sugar coating Cabrini Green.
In coastal CA this isn't so much of a problem, and I'd imagine in the more cosmopolitan and urban areas in the south it is improved or better.
A recent study shows that higher income minorities live in worst neighborhoods than lower middle class whites. We still have a lot of progress to make.
What the OP fails to realize is that African Americans and other ethnic/racial groups have not always been allowed to simply live wherever they wanted to or buy wherever they could afford to purchase. I am wondering if the OP has ever read the restrictive CC&Rs that prohibited real estate to be sold to persons of color in specific areas.
I thought it was crazy too but I gave it some thought and did some research. According to 2006 data, only 10% of the country made that or exceed it. There was a recession since then, which makes $75,000 even more desirable. Economicists often measure affluence by percentile rather than income. Its just so happens that the lowest threshold in the top 10% is $75,000.
It is hard to believe a COMBINED annual income of $75,000 is affluent. At best, I think it is middle class or lower middle class.
There are a range of reasons it happens:
1. Choice: the average minority would like to live in a diverse neighborhood, and in most metro areas, it is pretty rare to find an affluent one
2. Fall-out and leftovers from unfair housing policies that made it difficult and impossible for minorities to move into most neighborhoods
3. Leftover racism
For the record, I am black. For example, I grew up in CA and the south, in mainly white middle class areas (my CA neighborhood was more diverse). When I moved to the south, my family moved to a completely un-diverse neighborhood. There were maybe 4 other ethnic families in the neighborhood when I moved away, and it had about 300-350 homes. Some of my classmates had issues about where I lived. I had a white (presumably racist classmate) who complained that a) my family was more well-off than his, b) my parents were more educated than his, and c) he lived in a trailer park.
Luckily for me, I really only recall a few incidents with him and his friends growing up. I have plenty of other friends, of a range of ethnicities who experienced more serious issue ranging from social stratification to discrimination.
Unfortunately, there are still a lot of places where people of color aren't welcome (even wealthy ones). And not many minority majority affluent areas. There are plenty of people who are "afraid" to live with too many minorities.
So this stat is really a reflection of the limited gains we have made, where people do not feel like they have choice or can take advantage of the choice. So the problem is really lack or choice and/or access.
(Lucky for me, I live in a metro area where there are diverse neighborhoods at every income level.)
You're using anecdotal evidence, your experiences in the past do not necessarily reflect experiences today.
Racial groups tend to cluster with their own - it's not good or bad, it's a human trait (we distrust that which is different, might have been useful a million years ago). Anyway, I doubt minorities would really be made to feel that unwelcome - I've lived in several cities, and aside from saying hello, I've never really socialized with my neighbors, so... do they really matter that much these days?
I live in Chicago, and it's an extremely segregated city. Black and HIspanic professionals have complained that they are sometimes shunned by White neighbors in affluent neighborhoods.
And many black professionals in Chicago, have never had a problem in affluent neighborhoods. Many times, when people believe they are being discriminated against, it is actually their own perception coming back on them.
The average affluent black and Hispanic household — defined in the study as earning more than $75,000 a year — lives in a poorer neighborhood than the average lower-income white household that makes less than $40,000 a year.
...And most of the lower-income white households who think that they're moving up in status will probably be handing the keys to their houses over to a bank soon for trying to live beyond their means.
Discrimination remains, and it's strong. The same thing happened to me in the 2000s that has been happening to black people forever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by calipoppy
What the OP fails to realize is that African Americans and other ethnic/racial groups have not always been allowed to simply live wherever they wanted to or buy wherever they could afford to purchase. I am wondering if the OP has ever read the restrictive CC&Rs that prohibited real estate to be sold to persons of color in specific areas.
So, am I simply lucky? I've bought hundreds of houses from mostly whites (face to face, without a Realtor) over the past 10 years and have never had this problem. This was in the deep South, Louisiana and Texas.
Why has my experience been different? Or, are the problems location specific? Technically, I should have more problems due to the historic racism in my location.
Last edited by Freedom123; 08-10-2011 at 09:17 AM..
It is hard to believe a COMBINED annual income of $75,000 is affluent. At best, I think it is middle class or lower middle class.
Oh, they are measuring it in dual terms? A personal income of $75,000 makes more sense. Two people in a household can be making only $37,500 each and I don't see how is that affluent.
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